Hangover 2.0

I wrote about beers 3 & 4 being consumed on Saturday night in The Spencer, Putney. Less then 14 hours later, beer 5 was being crossed off the list. After the pub on Saturday night, we thought it would be a good idea to venture onto Putney High Street and see what the bars had to offer. Essentially, all they did have to offer was a hangover on Sunday.

Pint No. 5

What? – Beavertown – Neck Oil

Where? – The Ram, Kingston

When? – Sunday 7th January 2018

It was a crisp and clear day so we decided to catch the bus to Kingston and blow the cobwebs out. After a long and arduous 10 minute walk, we decided we’d earned a pub lunch. The pub that we plumped for in the end was The Ram on Kingston River front.

The first thing I spotted on tap was Lilley’s Mango cider so I made a move towards it. The temptation to buy a pint of was almost to much to resist but given that I did Lilley’s Rhubarb cider as Pint 1, Esther (my girlfriend) talked me out of it. I was pining for the familiar though, which is why I was delighted to see Beavertown’s brilliant Neck Oil among a host over great tipples.

Neck Oil is one of my favourite bevs on the market. It’s very drinkable and light but also has a good flavour and at 4.3% you can have plenty of them. At first I was a little annoyed that it wasn’t served in a Beavertown vessel but realised I didn’t actually give a shit once I drank some.

Overall Score – 4.5/5

After we had some nice lunch at The Ram we braved the cold again in search of a park. On the bus to Kingston, we’d eavesdropped on a conversation about a lovely park with a great pub at the end of it. We decided that this should be our next port of call should we be able to find it. We were in luck, after a short walk through a picturesque park, a large white building could be seen in the distance. Pub. Salvation. Pints.

Pint No. 6

What? – Orchard Pig – Reveller

Where? – The Boaters, Kingston

When? – Sunday 7th January 2018

Again, there was a great selection of draft liquids available. However, my mind had been made up before I even made it inside the pub. In the beer garden, I saw one of the greatest sights a Somerset man could see on a hangover. The beautiful porcine outline of Orchard Pig’s logo was clear.

The Boaters was our host for pint 6 and was busy, bustling and proof that not everyone is fussed with Dry January. We managed to spy a great table with a river view and retreated to it for the tasting. Now, this is a pint I’ve had before on many, many, occasions but fortunately for me, I only need to do 365 unique pints this year, not to me in my life time.

Reveller is Orchard Pig’s flagship cider and is easily the most readily available outside of Somerset. It’s a medium cider and at 4.5% it’s low volume, crisp and light of taste and easily drinkable. I must admit that given the choice I’d plump for a pint of Charmer, which is Reveller’s Dry brother (the one in the green bottle), but this is a great substitute and a happy change to the same old ciders you get in London pubs.

Overall score – 4.5/5

By having what I believe are two of the finest pints available in this fair city on the same day, I might have ruined a day for Future-Me in the coming year; but I really don’t care.